Subscribe to Marketing Day

Microsoft Assistant “Cortana” Coming Soon To Phones, PC, Xbox

For months the tech press has been writing about the imminent arrival of Microsoft’s answer to Siri: Cortana. The virtual assistant is modeled on a character in Microsoft’s “Halo” game. Microsoft has not acknowledged Cortana or said anything public about Cortana.

Unlike Siri Cortana will operate across devices and screens, including on the PC and Xbox. According to sources who spoke to The Verge, Cortana (or its equivalent) “wil replace the built-in Bing search feature, which is currently launched through a dedicated hardware key” on Windows Phones.

Here’s another difference with Siri or Google Now: the avatar. Cortana will be a more fully realized version of a digital assistant persona. She will have a face and a body unlike the disembodied voice of Siri or the nameless assistant of Google’s Voice Search and Google Now.

Behind Cortana will be sophisticated machine learning and Bing’s “Satori” back-end technology. Cortana will be the “face” of a new “service-enabled shell” powering all of Microsoft’s devices. That will enable “deep personalization” and device integration.

According to various reports, Cortana will be introduced first on Windows Phones in April. Beyond the fact that she has a face (and a body), Cortana will need to outperform Siri and Google Now to be a meaningful differentiator. Microsoft apparently believes that “she” can and will.

The video below featuring Cortana, from her Halo “death scene,” gives you a sense of her voice and personality. Microsoft will probably have to put some more clothes on her before her public unveiling however.

Attend MarTech and hear first-hand how brands like Coca-Cola, Aetna, Dell, EMC and Netflix are harnessing the power of technology to produce exceptional customer experiences that deliver business results. Visit with over 60 companies in expo hall. Don't miss the only US-based MarTech conference this year. Register today!

About The Author

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.